Marinette vs. The Marionette
Marinette_vs_Marionette.png|By I'm Lynda Marinette vs. Marionette is a What-If? Death Battle by I'm Lynda. It features Marinette Dupain-Cheng from the French television series, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, and The Marionette from the video game, Five Nights at Freddy's 2. Description She’s a superhero, but is she super enough when she enters – Da! Da! Da! – a haunted pizzeria? It’s Miraculous vs. Five Nights at Freddy’s! Interlude Boomstick: When we watch movies, it’s surprising that the hero always just happens to have whatever it takes to defeat the villain. But, what happens when you shake things up, and toss a completely different villain at the hero? The sort of villain that she’s never seen before? Wiz: Well, today we are going to find out. The hero is the hero of the French television series, Miraculous, Ladybug herself. Boomstick: And, the villain is the greatest of all jump-scarers from Five Nights at Freddy’s, the Marionette. Wiz: I’m Wiz, and he’s Boomstick. Boomstick: And it's our job to analyze their weapons, armor and skills to find out who would win a Death Battle. Marinette Wiz: Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a normal girl attending a normal French high school. She tended to be shy, clumsy and self-deprecating. That is, until one day when she found a little jewel box in her purse. Boomstick: It seems that this enigmatic, 186-year-old Chinese guy was looking to recruit some superheroes to help him, and he thought that Marinette would be a perfect fit. Wiz: It seems that Master Fu is the last of the Order of the Guardians, an ancient Chinese society dedicated to guarding the Miraculouses. These magical pieces of jewelry each contain a kwami... Boomstick: Which look like little, flying Funko Pop toy animals. Wiz: But are, in reality, sprite-like spirit-creatures that can help someone transform into a superhero. Boomstick: Marinette was given the kwami named, Tikki, who was the kwami of creation. Her Miraculous is a pair of earrings which look black when they are not activated. Wiz: However, when Marinette activates her Miraculous... Boomstick: By shouting the somewhat lame power words, “Tikki, spots on!” Wiz: She becomes Ladybug, complete with a red costume with black dots on it. Boomstick: Ladybug’s most basic powers are that she can move extraordinarily fast, and leap extraordinarily high and far. She also has gained the ability to fight like a martial arts master. Wiz: Her most important power is the power of the Lucky Charm. When she calls on this power, she is magically given an item that is guaranteed to help her defeat whoever or whatever she is fighting. The item is usually deceptively mundane, like a fork for example, but it is red with black dots, like Ladybug herself. Boomstick: All, she has to do is look around, and the power of the Lucky Charm will show her what she needs to do with the item to bring about her opponent’s defeat. This actually gives her a pretty huge advantage, as it allows her to defeat anyone, no matter how powerful, or it sends her back to Master Fu, who has the answers. Wiz: Now, on two occasions, Ladybug’s opponent was fast enough and smart enough, to intercept the Lucky Charm item, but those opponents were also familiar with Ladybug and her powers. It’s extremely unlikely that an opponent unfamiliar with her would know to even try to interfere with the Lucky Charm. Boomstick: And, Ladybug does have one weapon, her magic yo-yo. OK! OK! Yeah, it sounds like an extremely lame weapon, but this yo-yo is actually a pretty nifty piece of equipment. First of all, she can spin it really fast, making it serve as a rather effective shield. Wiz: She can also use the yo-yo as a missile weapon, throwing it and pulling it back. She can use it as a grappling hook, allowing her to climb things quickly, snag an item, or wrap up an opponent. You see, the string of the yo-yo is also magical, and is practically indestructible. In fact, it’s so strong that it even cut through the Eiffel Tower! Boomstick: Yeah, she might look like a little girl, in her pajamas, and playing with her yo-yo, but don’t take this superhero lightly! He’s a tough opponent, able to punch waaaay beyond her weight limit! The Marionette Wiz: Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza was a family-friendly entertainment restaurant, rather similar to Chuck E. Cheese’s. Boomstick: Yeah, I have some great childhood memories of Chuck E. Cheese’s. The games, the pizza, the games, the somewhat creepy animatronic animals, and of course, the games! Wiz: Well, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza had all that going for them, and they did really well. That is, until children started mysteriously disappearing around the restaurant. Then, things took a turn for the worse. Boomstick: The history of the Marionette, or the Puppet, is somewhat murky. Apparently, the Marionette was originally an animatronic creature that was posted in the Prize Corner, where it would hand out prizes to the children. It was upgraded with facial recognition software, and an added duty for it was to watch the adults for known pedophiles, and protect the children in the restaurant. Wiz: At one point, however, a predator did lure a little girl out of the restaurant, and into a back alley. The Marionette went looking for her, in spite of the driving rain that was damaging its circuits. It found the little girl’s body in the alley, and shorting out, laid down alongside of her. At some point, the little girl’s spirit entered the Marionette and began controlling it. Boomstick: When other children were murdered at Freddy Fazbear’s, the Marionette took their bodies, and put them in the animatronic animals at the restaurant, giving them a life beyond death. Wiz: Now, the Marionette and the other animals of Freddy Fazbear’s work to protect children, and get revenge against adults, particularly authority figures like security guards. Boomstick: Now, when it comes to attacks, the Marionette seems to rely on ambush, leaping on an unsuspecting quarry, and dispatching them quickly. Being a sort of robot-slash-undead thing, chances are that it does not get tired. Tired, or hungry, or bored. Wiz: But, on the downside, like most of the animatronics of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, it does seem to be that this creature is only active between the hours of 12 midnight, and 6 a.m. If an opponent can stay out of its’ reach until 6 in the morning, then the Marionette returns to its lair, and is no longer a threat. Boomstick: The Marionette’s most interesting power is its ability to move in shadows. When it is not under direct observation, it can seemingly disappear from one place, and appear somewhere else entirely. Wiz: This allows it to catch opponents when they are most vulnerable. However, it does seem to have a downside. Like all of the animatronics of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, the Marionette does seem to be affected by strong light, with the effect being greater the stronger the light is. Boomstick: Nonetheless, this combatant maybe a toy, but don’t take it lightly. It might just be toying with you! Intermission Wiz: The nights are getting longer, and the days are getting colder; winter is right around the corner. Boomstick: And, if there is something you don’t want on a winter evening, it’s a cold Hiney! Wiz: Well, the researchers at Hiney Wine have come up with a great solution: the Hiney Warmer! Boomstick: Yeah, this super-insulated can-cradle wraps around your can, and is guaranteed to keep your Hiney nice and warm, no matter how cold out it gets! Wiz: That’s right, it’s going to be cold, but this year your Hiney will be warm. Boomstick: Mmmmm. Wiz, I can’t wait hand me a Hiney right now! of a can opening. of someone drinking Boomstick: Ahhhhhh! Nice! Wiz: Alright the combatants are set; our Hineys are set; let’s end this debate once and for all. Boomstick: Its time for a DEATH BATTLE! DEATH BATTLE! Pre-Fight Marinette ran down the street. “Manon! Manon!” she called as she ran. She knew that Manon was upset, but she had never thought that she would run away from her in the middle of the night. Little Manon had had her heart set on going to La Pizza de Freddy Fazbear, but Marinette had explained that the restaurant had suddenly closed for renovations and no one knew when they would reopen. Manon had been crushed by the news, and had begun to declare that she would go to the pizzeria anyway. Marinette had understood. When she was younger, she had loved going to the highly entertaining restaurant. She remembered the games, the music, the bright lights, and the funny mechanical animals. But, later she began to find the place more and more disturbing. At the Collège Françoise Dupont, Freddy Fazbear’s had become the subject of whispered conversations. The kids said that a number of children had disappeared from there, and were never seen nor heard from again. Nino Lahiffe always insisted that the animatronic animals moved around strangely, and that he would always catch them staring at him whenever he was there. Marinette tried to laugh the whole subject off, but even she wondered if there wasn’t some truth in what the kids said. And now here she was, running down a darkened street, well after midnight, under a full moon, headed for the place. “Oh, Tikki,” she moaned to the little kwami that was flying along, next to her head. “I should never have left Manon alone. Mrs. Chamack will never forgive me, if she finds out I lost Manon. And I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to her.” “Don’t worry, Marinette,” Tikki reassured her. “I’m sure everything will be fine. She can’t have gone too far.” But, before she knew it, Marinette and Tikki arrived at the pizzeria. The “La Pizza de Freddy Fazbear” sign was dark, and the paintings of the happy mascots were now peering out of the shadows. Marinette ran up to the front door and gave it a pull, but the door was locked fast. She looked up and down the street, hoping to see someone who could help, preferably Sabrina Raincomprix’s police officer father, Roger. But, the street was deserted, and Marinette was completely alone. Suddenly, Tikki flew out from an alley that ran alongside the restaurant and exclaimed, “There’s a door in the back, Marinette!” Marinette ran around the building, and sure enough, underneath an old light fixture with a bare light bulb was a door. She could see that the door stood slightly ajar. She ran up to the door, and reached for the handle. Then, she hesitated. All of the stories that Nino and others told came flooding back to her. But, then she thought about Manon. She just had to find her. Marinette grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. The squeal that came from the hinges sounded incredibly loud in the quiet of the night. She stuck her head in through the door, and called out, “Manon?! Are you in here?!” But no answer came. She tentatively stepped into the kitchen of the place, with Tikki flying alongside her. The lights flickered strangely, and she could hear a weird tune that was playing somewhere in the distance. Marinette recognized the music as My Grandfather’s Clock, but it sounded eerily like it was playing on an old music box. A snippet of the old song popped unbidden into her mind: “It rang an alarm in the dead of the night — An alarm that for years had been dumb; And we knew that his spirit was pluming for flight — That his hour of departure had come. Still the clock kept the time, with a soft and muffled chime, As we silently stood by his side; But it stopped short — never to go again — When the old man died.” Somehow she didn’t find that as reassuring as she had hoped. “Manon?! Hello? Is anyone here?” she called, but no one answered. Then, she distinctly heard the distant sound of a little girl laughing. Manon! She ran through the swinging doors, and into the main hall of the restaurant. There were tables and chairs everywhere, along with napkins and paper hats, and other rubbish that should have been cleaned up long ago. “Hello?!” she called out, as she walked across the room. They got to the stage that dominated one wall of the room. She remembered the stage having Freddy Fazbear on it, along with Bonnie and Chica. Now, the stage was bare, except for some strange stains on the carpet where the mechanical creatures had stood. Marinette turned and called out again, “Manon?!” But she didn’t realize that Tikki had not followed her. Instead, the little kwami was floating in front of the empty stage, as if she was staring at something that only she could see. Marinette started to walk away from the stage, when she realized that Tikki was not with her. She turned back, and asked, “Tikki? Is everything OK?” Somewhere in the distance, the music box music continued to play its tinny tune. Tikki turned, and looked at the girl, her eyes wide with fear. “Marinette, something is very wrong here. I can feel pain...and fear...and anger.” She turned back to the stage. “And a thirst for revenge.” Suddenly, behind the music, they heard the sound of a child laughing. “Manon?!” Marinette shouted. Then, she ran across the room and up a corridor, with Tikki flying in pursuit. “Manon!” * * * Marinette burst through a door, and into a small room. It seemed to be the office of the restaurant, or something very much like that. There was a desk with papers, crumpled napkins and empty drink cups. And there were screens and posters, filing cabinets and boxes “Tikki!” Marinette shouted, “this is just what we need!” Marinette sat down at the desk, and Tikki flew into her purse. She picked up a tablet from off of the desk, and it flickered to life. Marinette looked at the menu, and realized that this was the controller for various systems around the restaurant, including the cameras. She flicked from camera to camera, looking for Manon, but didn’t see her anywhere. Suddenly, when looking through the camera for the Prize Corner, she realized that there was a control for the music box. She put her finger on the control, and swiped it to the side. Suddenly, the music stopped. Silence reigned in La Pizza de Freddy Fazbear! “Phew!” Marinette said, “I’m glad that’s over.” But Tikki’s tremulous voice came from her purse. “Marinette, I don’t think that you should have done that.” Marinette shifted from camera to camera, the flickering lights of the restaurant gave the place an eerie look, but she kept her eyes glued to the screen. Suddenly, the image on the screen showed a strange face, featureless and white, with empty black eyes. Marinette screamed, and dropped the tablet. Terror radiating from her face, she picked the tablet back up, and looked into it. It showed an empty corridor. “I...” she began. “Did I just see...What’s going on?” Marinette lifted her purse, and could see Tikki shivering in the bottom of the bag. “Tikki, what’s going on?” she asked. Tikki looked up and her, and said, “Marinette, something’s coming. Something that’s very, very angry. You better transform into Ladybug.” Marinette had never seen Tikki like this, and she would feel much more confident as Ladybug, so she nodded, stood up, and announced, “Tikki, spots on!” Tikki flew up to her miraculous, there was a flash of light, and Marinette transformed into Ladybug. Ladybug realized that when she transformed, she heard some sort of anguished cry coming from the hall. Spinning her yo-yo, she stepped through the door, and looked out into the hall. There was no one there. FIGHT! ' Suddenly, Ladybug heard music again. It was coming from up the hall, and now it sounded like someone furiously cranking a jack-in-the-box. The tune was ''Pop Goes the Weasel. “Manon!” Ladybug yelled. Then, she ran through the door, down the hall, and into the main hall. She could hear the music coming from around the next corner, from the Prize Corner. Of course, Manon would go to where all the toys and prizes were kept! Just as she got to the corner, a dark shape barreled out of the room, screaming a terrifying scream, and collided with her spinning yo-yo. The force of the impact threw her backward. She turned a back flip, bounced off of her hands, turned another flip, and landed on her feet on a table. Still spinning her yo-yo, Ladybug looked around the room, but no one was there. She bit her lower lip, and thought about what had just happened. She realized that she saw a face. A white face. The face she had seen in the security camera. “OK. Whoever you are, come out!” she called. The room was silent, except for the electric hum of the lights, and the clicking sounds that the lights made as they flickered off and on. Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind. Grabbing her yo-yo, she opened it up and called Cat Noir. “Oh, that sweet face, oh, those gentle arms in whose enfolding I would die a thousand deaths. But, soft, she speaks,” Cat Noir’s perpetually cheerful voice chirped from the phone. “Cat Noir!” Ladybug snapped. “This is no time goofing around. I need you to meet me at La Pizza de Freddy Fazbear.” “Freddy Fazbear?” Cat Noir asked as if incredulous. “You don’t want to eat there, My Lady. Let me take you out to La Ratatouille. It’s a new bistro, with a very unique atmosphere, and the food...” “Cat Noir! Listen to me!” she snapped again. “I was... Marinette Dupain-Cheng was babysitting little Manon Chamack, and she somehow slipped away from her. I’m at the old Freddy Fazbear, and I’m afraid that Manon has been akumatized! Get over here as quickly as you can!” Suddenly all business, Cat Noir replied, “Hold on, Bugaboo, I’m on my way.” “Thanks, Cat Noir...” Ladybug began, when suddenly there was a piercing scream, and something flew into her. Ladybug hit the ground, and pain exploded through her body. Still, using the momentum of the attack, she rolled and kicked the attacker off of her. She leaped up, spinning her yo-yo, but there was no one in the direction she had tossed her assailant. Then, suddenly a flickering light illuminated her attacker off to her left. She sent her yo-yo flying at the tall, thin shape, but the light flickered off, and the yo-yo simply flew through the space. The light flickered back on, and she could see that it was gone again. Spinning her yo-yo, Ladybug turned and turned, but she seemed to be alone in the room. Suddenly, she heard a little girl call out, “Hello?” Marinette turned, and ran through a door that flanked the stage. In it, she found various pieces of equipment, and even the endoskeleton of one of the old animatronic characters. The sight so shocked her that she raised her yo-yo to strike. But, the electronic character just sat huddled against the wall, showing no signs of life. Still spinning her yo-yo, she raised her foot, and prodded the metal skeleton with it. It slowly fell over, and lay on its side. She heard a little girl’s giggle, so she turned and raced through the door, and back into the main room. A movement caught her eye, and she continued into a room to her right. The room was dark, except for the light that came through the doorway. Looking around, Ladybug saw that it was a room filled with funhouse mirrors. In the dim and shadowy light, she could see herself reflected a seemingly infinite number of times. There were thin Ladybugs and fat ones, tall ones and short ones, Ladybugs with enormous heads and feet and tiny bodies... And suddenly, the door of the room slammed shut, plunging Ladybug into darkness! Acting on instinct, Marinette fired her yo-yo at the door, which exploded outward. But, before she could take a step, there was a scream, and her opponent slammed into her from behind. The two rolled through the ruined door, and out into the main room of the restaurant. Laying facedown on the floor with her attacker on her back, Ladybug felt long, cold fingers close around her throat. She fired her yo-yo forward, where it wrapped around the leg of a table. She pulled it back with all her strength, and the table flew through the air. She felt it pass over her, but her attacker was scooped away by it. Coughing from the throttling she had received, Ladybug leaped to her feet, and prepared to fire her yo-yo. The table lay against the wall, in a broken heap, but there was no sign of her attacker. Ladybug sighed. Her actions were getting her nowhere. Suddenly, she shouted, “Lucky Charm!” ''and cast her yo-yo up towards the ceiling. There was a flash of light, and a red spotted battery-powered spotlight with black dots dropped down. Marinette grabbed the falling light, and turned, as another anguished cry had sounded when the Lucky Charm appeared. Seeing no sign of her attacker, Ladybug looked first at the Lucky Charm, which flashed, and then around the room. A piece of the floor flashed, and then she saw the mirrors in the mirror room flash. Ladybug knew what to do, but she wasn’t pleased about it. She set the spotlight down on the floor, and then stepped to the door of the mirror room, biting her lip with trepidation. She stood with her hands on the doorframe, as she braced herself for what she knew was coming. There was another inhuman scream, and her opponent flew into her back and sent her sprawling into the darkened room. She found herself on her back, with her opponent on top of her, its long fingers wrapping clear around her neck. The deathly cold hands began to squeeze, closing off her airway. Quickly, she fired her yo-yo through the door, and at the ceiling beyond. It bounced off of the ceiling, and struck the power switch on top of the spotlight. The light immediately sent a beam of blindingly bright light through the door, and off of the opposite mirror. The light bounced off of the mirror and shot from mirror to mirror, bathing the room in light far brighter than the noonday sun! The Marionette screamed in pain, and raised its hands to cover its eyes. Ladybug threw the creature off, leaped to her feet, and threw her yo-yo, which wrapped around and around the cowering creature. Suddenly, the creature’s hands came down, and Marinette could see that it was weeping bright blue tears, which coursed down its white face. ''“I want to go home, but I don’t know how to go,” the Marionette sobbed in the voice of a little girl. “Please help me.” Suspecting that the akuma was in the Marionette’s mask, Ladybug reached out, and pulled the mask off. She was shocked to see a mechanical face looking back at her. The Marionette fell face-first to the ground, and it collapsed into a heap, out of which flew a glowing white light. At first Ladybug thought that it might be the akuma, but as it flew up, she saw that it looked more like a tiny bird made of pure white energy. The bird flew up towards the ceiling, where a glowing ball of light awaited it. When it flew into the ball, Ladybug heard the sound of a small girl giggling, and then the ball of light disappeared. Ladybug stared open-mouthed at the ceiling, but nothing more happened. So, she walked out, into the main room, tossed the spotlight into the air, and rather quietly said, “Miraculous Ladybug.” Instantly, a swarm of bright ladybugs swirled around the room. The spotlight blinked out of existence, and a bright ladybugs swept around the room, and through into the mirror room, where it vanished. 'K.O.! ' Ladybug stepped into the mirror room, and in the middle of the floor was a small black and white toy marionette. She picked it up and looked at it, and then looked up at the ceiling. “Ladybug?” Marinette heard Manon ask. She spun around, and saw the little girl in the door of the room. She ran to her, dropped down on her knees, and gave her a big hug. “Manon,” she said. “Where were you?” “Oh,” Manon said, “I was in a hidden room with my friend. We were playing Freddy Fazbear games. Do you know where she’s gone?” Ladybug leaned back, and then offered Manon the marionette doll. “That’s her!” Manon cried. She grabbed the doll, and hugged it to her chest. Just then, Cat Noir ran in. Looking around he asked, “Did I miss the party?” Ladybug smiled a sad smile at him, and said, “Yep, it’s all over.” Just then, her earring beeped, and Ladybug put her hand on it. Cat Noir frowned, and asked, “So, no La Ratatouille?” “Not tonight, Kitty,” Ladybug replied. “Can you take Manon back to Marinette’s? I’m sure she’s worried sick about her.” “Sure,” he said putting his hands on the little girl’s shoulders. “I know the way.” “Thanks,” Ladybug said, and ran out the door. As she passed through the kitchen, on her way out, she wiped a tear away from her cheek. Results '''Boomstick: OK. I guess that the Marionette had its mechanical ass handed to it. Wiz: Yes. In truth, the Marionette was simply not in the same category as Ladybug. It had some good moves, which made it a terror to normal security guards, who could not see it coming. Boomstick: It could move fast and hit hard, but Ladybug was used to dealing with opponents like that. Wiz: Ladybug’s biggest advantage, though, was her Lucky Charm, which was guaranteed to give her what she needed to overcome the Marionette. The Marionette had nothing with which to counter it. Boomstick: Nope, the Marionette was just a toy in Marinette’s hands. Wiz: The winner is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the Ladybug. Trivia Category:What-If? Death Battles Category:'Hero vs. Villain' themed Death Battles Category:I'm Lynda Category:'Video Games vs Movies' themed Death Battles Category:Horror Themed Death Battles Category:Completed What-If? Death Battles Category:What-If? Death Battles completed in 2019